IDYSawmillFlatsT210928

2021/09/28 Following the suggestion found in an AllTrails comment, Mark, Julie, & Mike Bender parked on the shoulder of a dirt road just outside of Stone Creek Campground. MFD thinks the name of the road was “Dark Canyon Road”, but neither JED nor MFD remembers seeing a street sign. By parking there we avoided paying the $10 usage fee charged by the campgound. Most of this Out & Back hike is on Sawmill Flats Road, a dirt fire-road that functions well as a wide walking path. The first leg of the hike (going mostly South & East, before veering North for the last 2/3 to 3/4 mile) is well-shaded because it is mostly nestled among tall trees, with a fair number of big rocks strewn about. Just before the end of the hike’s first leg, we saw the ruins of the old sawmill that lends its name to the trail. The sawmill is a dilapidated concrete structure that isn’t much to look at. Approximately 1/4 mile North of the sawmill (at the Northern terminus of our hike) we found a lovely lunch area demarcated by large boulders. There were only peekaboo views of distant mountains, but this was a well-defined & peaceful spot for lunch.